Reform UK intends to create an agency similar to the US ICE to deport up to 288,000 individuals annually, according to Zia Yusuf, the party’s new home affairs spokesperson. This includes plans to end indefinite leave to remain (ILR) status.
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Yusuf will detail that ILR holders would shift to a renewable five-year work visa with a high salary threshold. He argues these changes are crucial for securing borders and ensuring public safety.
The Labour party criticizes these plans as divisive, saying they target individuals who have legally settled and contribute to the community. Labour Chair Anna Turley condemned the policies, highlighting Britain’s values of diversity and tolerance. Turley described the proposals as a direct attack on settled families and fundamentally un-British.
Yusuf will outline Reform UK's intention to withdraw from the European convention on human rights, imposing a legal duty on the home secretary to deport illegal migrants. The proposed UK Deportation Command would manage these operations, but experts warn of significant costs given the current detention capacity of about 2,500 spaces.
Reform UK also plans to redraw the mandate of the Prevent program to focus on Islamist extremism. Yusuf will advocate for broader stop and search powers and propose ending diversity initiatives within police forces. He intends to introduce a zero-tolerance approach to Islamist extremism, including measures against the Muslim Brotherhood.
The party also aims to preserve British culture, proposing measures to ban the conversion of churches into mosques. Yusuf emphasizes that maintaining Christian heritage is essential for national identity.
Labour has offered different changes to ILR, suggesting an extension of eligibility requirements from five years to ten. They have criticized former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for policies that increased migration, arguing that granting ILR leads to a lifetime of state dependency, though ILR holders make up a small percentage of universal credit claimants.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now · Source · 22 Feb 2026